News Post

In response to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, Florida museums are taking immediate action to protect the health and well-being of their visitors, volunteers, and staff. Although public safety is the highest priority, FAM is deeply concerned about the financial recovery of museums in the aftermath of this viral outbreak.

FAM has also been actively lobbying for relief funding for museums and nonprofit organizations and working directly with institutions receiving CARES Funding to ensure that Florida Museums are included. Here are a few examples of some of the work FAM has been doing to help Florida Museums during this time of uncertainty:

Signed on with AAM to send letters to Congress requesting funding for Museums.

Served on Task Force to discuss the Division of Cultural Affairs NEA drawdown funding for the State of Florida and how it would be distributed.

Worked with Division of Cultural Affairs regarding current grant amendments and upcoming grant deadlines.

Ensured FAM Members are up to date on new information as it is released - make sure to join the FAM Members Only Facebook page if you have not done so already.

RESOURCES

FAM has also compiled a number of resources to support Florida museums in these challenging times (see below). You can scroll through the resources or simply click on a heading to go directly to that topic.

Business Damage Assessment Survey: Please complete the Business Damage Assessment Survey to help the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity evaluate the economic impact of COVID-19 and implement relief programs for recovery.

Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs Financial Impact Tracker Tool: Track the economic impact of COVID-19 on your organization with this FIT TOOL specifically relevant to the Arts and Culture industry. The file has 6 pages, the first of which explains the document.

National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH)-- The CARES Act provided $75 million in emergency funding to assist eligible nonprofits affected by the coronavirus. Approximately 40 percent of the appropriation will go directly to the 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils to support local cultural nonprofits and educational programming. The remaining 60 percent will support at-risk humanities positions and projects at museums, libraries and archives, historic sites, colleges and universities, and other cultural nonprofits that have been financially impacted by the coronavirus. For more information, see NEH FAQ on this topic. Details will be announced here: neh.gov.

**Florida Humanities**will receive $900,000 to distribute to Florida institutions and they are currently working on the criteria for distribution.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)-- The CARES Act provided $75 million in emergency funding to be distributed to nonprofit arts organizations across the country to help these entities survive forced closures in response to the spread of COVID-19. NOTE: Applicants must have received funding from NEA in the last four years to qualify. Arts organizations do not have to provide matching funds to receive their grant and funds can be used for general operating expenses. This is a two-step grant process that must be completed by April 22nd and May 4th respectively. CLICK Here to apply.

Also, on March 31, NEA cancelled the Challenge America application deadline in order to prepare for distribution of funding from CARES Act. Challenge America applicants should apply for Grants for Arts Projects with a deadline of July 9, 2020. See Grants for Arts Projects page for more information on how to apply for this funding.

Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS): The CARES Act designates $50 million in coronavirus response funding for IMLS to enable libraries and museums to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including by expanding digital network access, purchasing Internet accessible devices, and providing technical support services to their communities. NOTE: $30 million of the funding will go to state libraries. Details on how the remainder of the funds will be distributed will be announced here: imls.gov.

Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program -- Nonprofits with 500 or fewer paid employees (counting all full-time and part-time employees equally) will be eligible for SBA emergency loans of 2.5 times monthly payroll expenses. Loan Forgiveness:Nonprofits that keep their employees on the payroll from February 15 to June 30 could have their loans forgiven, turning the loan into a grant. The amount of loan forgiveness would be equal to the amount spent by the borrower during an 8-week period after the origination date of the loan. The portion of the loan that can be forgiven would be reduced by an amount related to positions that have been eliminated and wages that have been reduced, unless those positions and wages are restored by June 30, 2020. Loans will be available directly through SBA and Treasury approved banks, credit unions, and some nonbank lenders. See SBA’s Find A Lender Page to locate an approved lender near you.

Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loans:Eliminates creditworthiness requirements. Available to nonprofits to help overcome temporary loss in revenue caused by COVID-19. The interest rate is 2.75%, with repayment terms of up to 30 years. The application is straightforward and can be Completed Online Here. This loan does not include forgiveness provision. Organizations cannot receive both SBA loans, unless the loan applications are for different purposes.

Charitable Giving Incentive:Includes a new deduction for total charitable contributions, as well as other incentives. More information can be found at AFP, Foundation for Philanthropy.

Employee Retention Payroll Tax Credit:Creates a refundable payroll tax credit of up to $5,000 for each employee on the payroll. To be eligible, a nonprofit must have experienced a drop in revenue of at least 50% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the first quarter of 2019. The credit is available each quarter until the nonprofit's revenue exceeds payroll by 80% of the same quarter in 2019. Nonprofits receiving emergency SBA loans are not eligible for these credits. For more information, see the IRS Page on this topic.

Nonprofits that Self-Fund Unemployment:Nonprofits that self-fund unemployment benefits could get reimbursed for up to half the costs of benefits provided to their laid-off employees. See this article from National Council of Nonprofits for more information.

Expanded Unemployment Benefits: Includes coverage for workers who are furloughed, gig workers, and freelancers. Increases payments by $600 per week for four months on top of what state unemployment programs pay. See this article from National Law Review for more information.

Amendments to the New Paid Leave Mandates: Lowers the amounts that employers must pay for paid sick and family leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to the amounts covered by the refundable payroll tax credit - i.e.., $511 per day for employee sick leave or $200 per day for family leave.

ThinkProxi’s “Helping Hand-le Covid-19 Program”: ThinkProxi has initiated a donation program called “Helping Hand-le Covid-19” by creating a mobile app linked directly to Non-Profit donation systems enabling the general public to view content from your museum and offer financial contributions. ThinkProxi is covering 100% of the resources required to initiate and deploy “Helping Hand-le Covid-19” and ask that you complete an online information request form. *Must be a registered 501c3 in order to participate.